Cranchi Smeraldo 37 w/ KAD 300's

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Folks,
In the never ending quest for boats, the Cranchi Smeraldo 37 has taken my eye.

2003 year so is the up-dated interior.

She has 2 x KAD300's with 350 hours, so not 'too little' to be worried about, IMO

As a KAD 32/43 person, this would be my first world of electronic controls etc.

Can anyone offer any pointers re. the KAD 300's? Or the boat? I'm familar with the Zaffiro 34 so assume it is a well built boat, just wondering if there's anything in particular to watch out for

Many thanks
 
z1ppy said:
sorry cant help you on this specific but have i missed something? thought you just bought a Zaffiro 34??
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I did, I want something bigger (I must be compensating) but have fallen in love with the Cranchi design
 
I could write quite a lot about KAD300s.... mine are suffering some minor issues that seem to have been caused by too little use not helped by tanks that were half full of 50 yr old fuel. However, putting that to one side I think they're great engines. Very smooth and powerful, they make my Prestige 34 (about 6 tons dry) fly. They're a slightly odd cross breed engine with a mechanical fuel pump that has complex electronic control and governor, the EDC setup. They need the valve clearances doing every 200 hrs without fail, which is not that straightforward due to the 4 valve per cylinder config and the need to remove the fuel lines. Failure to do this can result in a dropped valve = mega bucks repair bill. Also extended low speed use can result in accelerated valve gear wear.
 
I have KAD 300's on the Windy. My only issue with them is that they're pretty smokey (cough cough smokey, not yeehaa smokey). I wish i'd bought a boat with D series engines, but of course that would be a later boat at a higher price.
 
Kad 44 and 300, make sure the seller has service history, I'd also go under the banner of every 2 years or 200 hours for the valve check.

If it's been run on the Thames at slow speeds then there could be valve gear wear( bad design) as on old lawnmower relies on splash lubrication not a 20k piece of kit.

As with any boat have a structure survey, engine sea trial and inspection by an engineer.
 
alt said:
Can anyone offer any pointers re. the KAD 300's? Or the boat? I'm familar with the Zaffiro 34 so assume it is a well built boat
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It is. Its hull is actually much better than the Z34 (which ain't bad, mind). I've been cruising near a S37 with my Z34 years ago, in various conditions, and the S37 was always better. Particularly in head sea with short waves, the S37 was definitely more stable and softer on the wave.
Back in its days, the Z34 was actually sold in higher numbers, but that's just because the price difference with the S37 was significant, and to most punters (myself included) the size and the internal accomodation was not larger enough to justify it.
But in hindsight, I would definitely spend up to 30% more for the S37, AOTBE. The hull alone is well worth that.

No experience on KAD300s, sorry.
 
Nick_H said:
I wish i'd bought a boat with D series engines, but of course that would be a later boat at a higher price.
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Naah, you should have rather gone for petrol big blocks...
Your nice Windy would definitely deserve them! :D
 
Thanks folks.
I am going through a quarter-life crisis.

After sitting down this morning, I am starting to think would I be better off entering the flybridge world, specifically the Prestige 32

Same engines, KAD300.... this engine does worry me as I think it is the first time i'll be entering a more complex engine world (I love the KAD 32/43)

So apart from the engine, I need to ponder and decide whether to think with the heart (S37) or the head (Prestige 32)

My main worry with the P32 is that I am guessing access to the engines is going to be a nightmare come service time

Inspire me folks :(
 
alt said:
Thanks folks.
I am going through a quarter-life crisis.

After sitting down this morning, I am starting to think would I be better off entering the flybridge world, specifically the Prestige 32

Same engines, KAD300.... this engine does worry me as I think it is the first time i'll be entering a more complex engine world (I love the KAD 32/43)

So apart from the engine, I need to ponder and decide whether to think with the heart (S37) or the head (Prestige 32)

My main worry with the P32 is that I am guessing access to the engines is going to be a nightmare come service time

Inspire me folks :(
Click to expand...

Some items are not easy to get to, mainly the port engine items on the p 32.
 
We had a Cranchi Endurance 33 with KAD300s.

They were reliable BUT they have a lot of belts ( a D6 has one!) and we used to throw a belt most years, and sods law it was always at the worst possible time.

They were adjusted and the dealer said he could find nothing wrong. Someone else said they needed cleaning with acetone - don't know, but it was a pain!

The next problem was selling it. The Smeraldo is probably a more conventional layout, but the Endurance looked drop dead gorgeous and was in essence a 33 foot speed boat. We had it for 4 years and went to La Rochelle twice in it, and all over. Great build quality etc. Had a great time, but selling it drew zero interest, even at the lowest price of all of then on Boatshop 24, 2 brokers etc.

I PXd it for a good price ( and overall good deal) against a Targa 40 with Essex Boat Yards ( who sold it in a week!).

So just a warning on Cranchi other than Essex Boatyards magic touch ( Trevor is a lovely man) my experience was they are difficult to sell and KAD 300s are fine but have too many belts to break.
 
jrudge said:
We had a Cranchi Endurance 33 with KAD300s.

They were reliable BUT they have a lot of belts ( a D6 has one!) and we used to throw a belt most years, and sods law it was always at the worst possible time.

They were adjusted and the dealer said he could find nothing wrong. Someone else said they needed cleaning with acetone - don't know, but it was a pain!

The next problem was selling it. The Smeraldo is probably a more conventional layout, but the Endurance looked drop dead gorgeous and was in essence a 33 foot speed boat. We had it for 4 years and went to La Rochelle twice in it, and all over. Great build quality etc. Had a great time, but selling it drew zero interest, even at the lowest price of all of then on Boatshop 24, 2 brokers etc.

I PXd it for a good price ( and overall good deal) against a Targa 40 with Essex Boat Yards ( who sold it in a week!).

So just a warning on Cranchi other than Essex Boatyards magic touch ( Trevor is a lovely man) my experience was they are difficult to sell and KAD 300s are fine but have too many belts to break.
Click to expand...


Belts are a problem, if there not kept tensioned to the correct setting, when new they bed in a stretch to a point then stay stable, what people think is that they wear out when actually the tension drops causing slip which burns out the belt. You then see the bilge area covered in belt dust, it also blocks the air filter causing black smoking and poor top end performance.

The pulleys rust when the boats stood as the engine bay is damp.
 
volvopaul said:
Belts are a problem, if there not kept tensioned to the correct setting, when new they bed in a stretch to a point then stay stable, what people think is that they wear out when actually the tension drops causing slip which burns out the belt. You then see the bilge area covered in belt dust, it also blocks the air filter causing black smoking and poor top end performance.

The pulleys rust when the boats stood as the engine bay is damp.
Click to expand...
Hardly for me to say you have that right , but that is exactly my experience. Might need a bit of adjustment and keep an eye on a stream of dust, but otherwise no issue. But that was the same with the 44s
Nickh.. mine are only really a bit smokey early season when it is cold, and for the first while. Whether you would have been pleased to own a 05/06 early d series.....hmmm history suggests perhaps not ;) How is that table ?
 
Thanks a lot for the info folks, much appreciated.

Having done a search, there has been plenty of discussion already I see.

Next step is to see the engines in person and test them out
 
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